A class action lawsuit has been filed against the city alleging a sick leave policy for police radio room employees violates federal law. The lawsuit was filed in US District Court and alleges a police division directive requires employees who return to work after illness or injury to provide supervisors with a document, signed by a doctor, describing the nature of their medical condition. The class claims that under federal law, such information must be treated as a confidential medical record.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of current and former radio room employees who claim their supervisors punished them for failing to provide the information by refusing to return them to work, charging them with unexcused absences, or suspending or terminating them. The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages as well as lost wages and benefits for those who were fired.
